Origami can be used to transform a flat sheet of paper, for example, into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. Such finished sculptures can be very intricate with detailed and complex shapes. Traditional origami has been used primarily in artistic applications, but its use in other more industrial areas is being investigated.
For example, in small or micro-scale manufacturing processes, e.g., from centimeters to micrometers to nanometers), origami has been explored to form flexible compact devices. Indeed, flexible, foldable and/or stretchable electronics are emerging as an attractive and promising new industry. Such electronics can be incorporated into wearable devices, such as flexible displays, stretchable circuits, hemispherical electronic eyes, and epidermal devices, to name a few. However, only very simple folding methods and structures have been explored to fabricate such structures due to their small size. Moreover, the current material choice is limited, thereby limiting the functionality of the structure. Additionally, such structures are limited by manufacturing technology which is not scalable, has a low yield, and is expensive and fragile.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for origami-based structures which may utilize soft and hard materials to produce wide functionality, reduce the space required, and improve portability and performance of such devices.